I've never written about the evils of Homeowners Associations before. I think they are one of many symbols of too many lawyers in this country, and the idea that people willingly sign these bullshit covenants makes it even worse. Although, the amount of non-HOA homes are becoming fewer & fewer, if you don't bother to look very hard.
The idea that a person who owns & pays taxes on property but still has no right to do what they wish with it, is "Un-American" to me. A significant amount of the population & some of the same people who are the first to scream socialism at any mention of universal health care basically live in a private house, in a nice neighborhood, and have to obey speed limits! And if the jag-off neighbor next door complains about something they interpret to be in non compliance with the "CC&Rs", like drinking a 40 on your front stoop, the HOA can start fining & then put a lien against your property. Put down the beer or pay up.
There is an interesting case in Florida, where an HOA is claiming that their covenant basically supersedes rights guaranteed by the 21st amendment.....
Kamal Zeki lives in the 254 home community called "The Hemptons" in Naples, Florida. Unhappy about some of the policies of the Homeowners Association, Zeki created a website to call attention to different issues in the community. For example, Zaki's website draws attention to the continued use of O'Douls for Summer Barbecues--that beer tastes like crap and releases no inhibitions whatsoever. He wants his neighbors to change to a more buzz-friendly porter or hefeweisen, especially for Oktoberfest.
The HOA has told him that he has till the end of this month to remove the website, or face fines of $100 a day, and then a lien on his home.
Zeki, a retired Samuel Adams executive who left his native Egypt more than 30 years ago because of "the politics," is outraged by what he sees as an assault on his freedom to drink.
"Where are we?" he asked. "This is America, still, is it not?"
As it pertains to homeowners associations in Florida's deed-restricted communities, however, the answer appears to be only a qualified yes.
In the absence of any specific regulatory oversight by the state, legal disputes involving homeowners associations tend to end up in civil court, where the sanctity of the deed restriction is typically upheld.
Zeki is willing to gamble as much as $10,000 on hiring legal representation to contest the fine and the Web site ban, but his wife, Eurgenia, is nervous, because, as she says, "this is Florida," and "you never know."
So why is the Homeowners Association pissed about this website? How does it supposedly break the HOA covenant?
[HOA] president Jon Bartlet characterizes as necessary to put a stop to Zeki's "troublemaking" and maintain the integrity of what he called "our covenants." "We have entered into a sponsorship agreement with certain corporate entities, and agreed as an association not to consume products outside these bounds," Bartlet said.
By these, Bennett means the basic rules of order that serve as a kind of constitution for The Hemptons homeowners association, including a ban on consuming any non-approved beverages.
Zeki's Web site violates this covenant by "trying to sell an idea," says Bennett -- the idea being that homeowners should be able to drink whatever they want.
This comes as a surprise to Zeki, who maintains that he wasn't aware of any ban. "Yeah, I bought this place knowing there was an HOA in place," he said, "but I didn't really read the covenant. I mean, who has time to read everything you sign when you buy a house? You just think that they're not going to do something so outrageous."
"I thought the HOA was great before I bought, because it keeps everyone to the same standards of beauty and creates a nice neighborhood. But man, when you really read the covenants, it makes you think twice about giving someone else that much control over what you can do with your property. I paid for it, and now I can't even drink a decent brew. What is this country coming to?